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LEVELLAND — With the regular season complete, the South Plains College men's and women's track and field teams will shift their focus to the 2018 NJCAA Div. I Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 17-19 in El Dorado, Kansas at BG Products Veterans Sports Complex on the campus of Butler Community College.
Action will get underway on Thursday at 9 a.m. beginning with the women's combined events, followed by the men's combined events at 9:15 a.m. The meet will be capped following the men's 1600-meter relay at 4:25 p.m. on Saturday with the awards ceremony to follow.
"We're just trying to keep our kids healthy and refreshed and on top of their game," South Plains head coach Erik Vance said. "I think they understand what time of year it is and you see that in practice and they're ready to go. Now that finals are done they can mentally recover from that, and now they have one thing to focus on, and once they do that we will be ready to go."

HOBBS, N.M. — The South Plains College men’s and women’s track and field teams capped the 2018 Ross Black Invitational with a pair of facility records on Saturday at the Ross Black Field of Champions.
The top-ranked Texans swept the top three spots in the men’s long jump as sophomore All-American Fabian Edoki set a facility record with a mark of 26’ 2.25”* on his first attempt. Freshman Holland Martin followed up with a second place finish, soaring 24’ 9.25”*, while Danylo Molchanov earned third place honors with a final mark of 23’ 3.25”*. Molchanov would also take first in the men’s triple jump, turning in a mark of 49’ 10.5”*.
“Our guys went one-two-three in the long jump today, and any time you can do that in a meet it’s a good day,” South Plains head coach Erik Vance said. “Asani Hylton did really well and is starting to come along and keeps getting better every week. Overall I was really happy with the final results today and I thought both groups went out and did a great job.”

LEVELLAND – The South Plains College men’s and women’s track and field teams return to action on Saturday in Hobbs at the Ross Black Invitational following a strong outing in San Angelo a week ago.
The Texans enter the weekend ranked No. 1 in the latest USTFCCCA national polls, while the Lady Texans come in ranked third. To date, the Texans and Lady Texans have combined for 64 national qualifying marks after winning six event titles in San Angelo.
“Andre Edwards ran a very competitive time in the 100 which was just about legal wind with a 10.13, and Brandon Letts followed him up in the 100 meters with a new personal best as well,” South Plains head coach Erik Vance said. “Junior Charles and Jordan Atkinson ran well in the 200 and did some good things in the finals, and Dan set the second-best mark in the country in the triple jump which was very solid.”

SAN ANGELO — The South Plains College men’s and women’s track and field teams were back on the track Sunday at the ASU David Noble Relays at LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field.
The Texans and Lady Texans combined for six event titles in San Angelo and have acquired 64 national qualifying marks to date, a number they will get a chance to add to on April 14 in Hobbs at the Ross Black Invitational on the campus of New Mexico Junior College.
“All in all I thought we had a solid day from start to finish,” South Plains head coach Erik Vance said. “We put a good number of kids in the prelims and had a good number in the finals tonight, so any time you can qualify that many is a good thing, and we came back this evening and competed well and really got after it.”

ABILENE — The South Plains College men’s and women’s track and field teams opened the outdoor season this weekend at the Wes Kittley Invitational on the campus of Abilene Christian University.
South Plains will return to action March 28-31 in Austin at the 91st annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at Mike A. Meyers Stadium.
Sophomore Fabian Edoki wasted no time setting the bar for the Texans in the men’s long jump as he set the top collegiate mark in the country in the men’s long jump, soaring 26’ 7”* on his third attempt, good enough for first overall on Saturday. Freshman Danylo Molchanov also found himself in the top 10 in the long jump as he placed sixth for South Plains with a mark of 23’ 6.25” on his third attempt. Molchanov would then place first overall in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 50’ 5.25”* on his sixth attempt.

LUBBOCK — The stage was set.
Trailing Barton County by two points with a single race remaining, the top-ranked South Plains College men's track and field team controlled its own destiny. With the South Plains College faithful packed into the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center chanting "SPC", the Texans didn't disappoint.
Running as the anchor for the orange and blue in the men's 4X400 relay, Montel Hood barreled down the final stretch in front of a ruckus crowd as the Texans finished second with a 3:09.56, two spots ahead of Barton to take a 94-92 lead in the final standings as they captured the 2018 NJCAA Men's Indoor National Championship, their sixth indoor title in program history and first since 2015.
"I knew Barton was on my tail and had to keep pushing," Hood said. "I like to make my move in the final half of the race, so I kicked at the halfway mark and was able to pass him smoothly. All you feel at that moment is jitters going through your body, but we all pulled together and made it happen. Every time we step on the track we give it everything we have, and it paid off for us today."

LEVELLAND — Championship weekend.
The South Plains College men’s and women’s track and field teams will look to add to the trophy case this weekend at the 2018 NJCAA Indoor National Championships at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center March 2-3.
The Texans have ascended to the top of the USTFCCCA national rankings and will enter the weekend ranked first in the country. Led by head coach Erik Vance, the Texans have amassed 15 top 10 national marks in 12 different events.

The Western Junior College Athletic Conference recently announced the members of the WJCAC Commissioner's Honor Roll for Fall 2017 semester, including 18 athletes from South Plains College. Student-athletes had to have a 3.25 GPA or better to be selected.

TOPEKA, Kansas — The South Plains College men’s and women’s half marathon teams added to the trophy case on Saturday at the 2017 NJCAA Half Marathon Championships at the Lake Shawnee and Bettis Family Sports Complex.